This year, almost 13 million textbooks will be delivered free of charge to students in public education and vocational training at the start of the school year, the Parliamentary State Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior announced on Tuesday in Budapest.
At the press conference held at the Géza Gárdonyi Primary School in Újbuda, Bence Rétvári highlighted: instead of the previous paid and increasingly expensive textbooks, following the government’s measures, the students will receive the textbooks for free, which is seen as a family support measure.
He reminded that before 2010, the price of textbook packages increased by 71 percent every year in eight years, meaning that families had to pay more and more.
In this situation, it was decided after 2010 that everyone in the state textbook development system would receive textbooks free of charge, which would cost a family HUF 20,000 to 40,000. 80,000 free school supplies will be distributed to families in need, he listed.
In addition to paper-based teaching materials, he continued, digital teaching materials are also constantly expanding: 200 new digital teaching materials can be viewed on the National Public Education Portal, which has already been downloaded 193 million times.
In addition to the 450,000 laptops distributed in recent years, another 100,000 laptops will be delivered to Hungarian students by the end of 2025, the state secretary said.
Government spokesperson Eszter Vitályos emphasized at the press conference that, following the government’s decision, the affected 1.1 million families already received the amount of the gyes, gyed and family supplement due in September last week, before the start of the school year, and 1.2 million students will receive free textbooks. with this, the state takes HUF 15 billion off the shoulders of Hungarian families.
Discounted or free children’s meals are provided through the municipalities for large families and those raising several children. In addition, from September 1, all young people studying in public education and vocational training will be assisted by reimbursement of the costs of the KRESZ exam required to obtain a category B driver’s license, he added.
He also reported that at last week’s meeting of the government, the situation regarding salary increases for teachers was reviewed. It was found that teachers earn 670-680 thousand forints following a 32 percent average salary increase this year. At the same time, a further increase of around 21 percent is expected on January 1, after which the average salary for teachers will increase to HUF 820,000.
According to his statement, the government intends to continue salary increases until 2030, which means that by 2027 the average salary of teachers will even exceed HUF one million.
The government considers it important to respect teachers not only financially, but also morally, because the future is in their hands through our children, said Eszter Vitályos.
Source: MTI
Photo: MTI/Tamás Kovács
2024-08-29 06:28:59